Epitaph of Twilight: Spica
by Kendansa
Summary: Long ago, there existed a great tree that was the source of all life. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed to take its place. Now this misfortune, as recorded in the Epitaph of Twilight, must be repeated.
1. Notes and Disclaimer

**The Epitaph of Twilight: Spica  
**

Historian's Reference: This story takes place around the same time as Shippuden would start, but a lot of things have changed. I have saved or deleted past or upcoming events, and delayed some for use later on. Some things will happen, others won't. For example, you may say, "What happened to the arrival of the Atatsuki after the death of the 3rd Hokage?" My reply would be: "For the purpose of this story, it never happened." And you may say, "How else will the plot progress?" And I will again reply, "Ah, but therein lies the story! Or, part of it, anyway."

Or you might say, "Well, why haven't the Akatsuki arrived, but Sasuke still joins the Dark Side?" And my response would be as follows: "Sasuke joining Sound is one of the key components of the plot. Otherwise, it would make it hard to move forward." And you would likely do a face-vault, where I would laugh until someone brought me my morning tea. Because, you see, I cannot function properly without it. In fact, I become downright cruel without a cup of hot Earl Grey, as you might have discovered by now. Cheerio!

* * *

Reader's Note: This is NOT your typical Naruto fic. However, it is not your typical crossover, either. In fact, even I, the authoress, have no clue what it is, other than a work of slightly AU madness. It takes place in the Naruto universe, yet borrows characters from other series and places them in the world as if they had always existed there. It also introduces OC's, destroys most of the plot of Shippuden (and some of the original) in favor of insane world-crossing adventures, steampunk-style alternate universes, and Shinobi-vs-Starfleet-type battles, all while hopefully maintaining a coherent plot and making sense in the end. Only Douglas Adams could do better, don't you agree?

Any questions as to the sobriety or sanity of the author will be forwarded to the question monkeys.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Tsubasa RESERIVoir CHRoNiCLE, xXxHOLiC, CLAMP's RG Veda, dot Hack (original series or G.U.), Dream Saga, Magic Knights Rayearth, or Tales of Symphonia. Also, I have no ownership over Japanese, Norse, Celtic, or Greek mythology, the Latin language, the various jutsu I pretend to create, and what Shakespere, _et alii_, I may quote intermittently throughout this narrative, which deserves to be taken out and shot for plagiarism. I only own my oc's and the plots I create, centered around them, which usually originate from my half-sleeping, sugar- and caffeine-high brain at 3 in the morning, listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme and pretending to be Zorro.

So, without further delay, the second long bit of insanity from yours truly.


	2. The Legend of the Worlds Tree

**The Legend of the Worlds Tree**

_Once upon a time, there was a great tree that was the source of all life._

_A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the spirits turned from this world and disappeared unto the heavens._

_"You must wake us," they said, "For if we should sleep, the world will be consumed by chaos."_

_The angels bore the Chosen One, who sought out the Wave and headed unto the Tower of Salvation in the heavens._

_And this marked the beginning of the Regeneration of the World._

* * *

**Spica**

By Maaya Sakamoto

_Thank you for being here with me now  
With you seeming like a bird that can't sing, I feel just a bit of pain in my chest_

_Sometimes I see your face fall in loneliness  
I want to know about even the weakness inside your kindness_

_Please, tell me why you're so afraid of something happening to me  
Please, tell me if there's anything I can do  
so that you'll smile_

_When I touched your hand, it was strange, but  
I felt like we'd already met once, somewhere far away_

_Because I clearly recognize now that  
things like knives and hatred just won't break down as long as they exist_

_Please, don't take away even your sadness  
All the days that we've lived so far have left their mark on me  
There isn't even one memory I don't need_

_I want to be brought up with you, spinning our threads, holding each other tight, forever and ever  
in the beginning world, the beginning melody_

_Murmur it one more time, the name of that distant, faraway city  
"Please, so it's like you're showing me the way"  
I held on tight to it_

_Please, don't hide away how you're so afraid of something happening to me  
Now there's a light we can depend on, but  
it's definitely because you're by my side_


	3. Prologue One: The Shadowed Girl

**Epitaph of Twilight: Spica**

_Shunning the field broken by Wave,_

_The shadowed girl whispers,_

"_Surely, I will return."_

_Alas, the truth unbeknownst,_

_Awaiting her at journey's end,_

_Eternal mourning for her land._

_Epitaph of Twilight_, by Emma Weilant

(Excerpt from _.Hack/Another Birth_)

* * *

**Prologue Primus**

_A woman stood alone in a shattered landscape. Her silver hair was cut raggedly, as though she had been in a fight. Her body scarred all over, her clothing torn. She was facing away from the traveler, standing in a ruin that might have once been a home. Her sight was directed toward a gate, burnt and splintered, the walls around it crumbled and worn smooth with age. Above her, the sky was eternal red twilight, the barren, lifeless landscape covered over by thick, noxious clouds and puffs of dust kicked up by the hot wind. It was a scene worthy of the Apocalypse, but she paid no notice. Only when the traveler was close enough to touch the woman did she turn around. Their eyes locked: the traveler's, saddened and determined; the woman's, mildly curious, childishly innocent. And then, the woman spoke to the traveler._

_"Do you know the end?" She gave the traveler a small, curious smile, like a child asking for a treat from an older friend._

_"I do not," the traveler replied, "but you do not need to search any more."_

_The woman smiled. She was the last in this barren place; all the others had gone ahead, thanks to the traveler. She, by far, knew the most about this person. This traveler, who always left the village sometime in the morning or afternoon, always reappeared again inside the village the following morning, sometimes frustrated and shouting, other times resigned. Either way, she always helped the Lost Ones move on. This was a kind traveler._

_A kind traveler who also needed information._

_For there was only one place that travelers, rare as they were—after all, they were the only ones still _alive_-- went in Dherris-Kharlan: the Tower of Salvation. But this traveler was of a different sort. She was a Dream Traveler, who always walked towards the Tower, but never reached it, because the world she was in was only real to her in her dreams. This barren reality for the Lost Ones—neither buried nor mourned in death—was simply a dream to the only ones who had the power to send Lost Ones on the final journey: the Dream Traveler. Some Lost Ones, who were the evil sort and deserved no mourning, set off to find the Tower for themselves, and claim the treasure within, which was said to possess enough power to bring them back to the world of the living. But none of these evil ones ever reached it or returned._

_The traveler's small hand reached up to the Lost woman's face. "It's okay to rest," she said, looking up with clear blue eyes. The traveler was but a child, likely only Genin rank in the living world, at best._

_"I know," replied the woman. "But there is something I must do before I move on. Do you know of the Wave?"_

_"The… Wave?" the traveler repeated, confused._

_"It is a power shared by the strongest travelers, which binds them to one another. Only when the Wave unites will the path to the Tower open." The woman had paid much of her soul, which was all she had left, to find this information and entrust it to the one who needed it. Her scars were the symbol of her payment._

_The girl paused, startled. "T-thank you," she stammered._

_"No, thank _you_," the woman replied, smiling. Her final mission was complete; she had no more reason to remain in this forsaken place._

_"…Good night." The woman with silver hair vanished, leaving behind a memento on the ground. The traveler carefully picked it up and hung it on the remains of a wall, an abandoned hite-ate to mark the passing of a Lost One._

_More time had passed than the traveler realized. As she was sending off the stragglers of what appeared to be a gigantic battle in the village, she hadn't even once looked up at the sky. It was nearing twilight… there was no use trying to make headway today. Already, this world, Dherris-Kharlan, was fading before her eyes, along with the memory of most of the day's events. But one thing remained in her mind._

_The Wave. What is this Wave, anyway?_

_The Wave._

_The…_


	4. Chapitre One: Land of Beginnings

**Chapitre One: Land of Beginnings**

"GOOD MORNING, HIKARI-CHAN!!"

Aizawa Hikari jumped out of bed with a shout and landed spectacularly: face-first on the floor. She rolled over, rubbing her forehead, which had smacked the bedpost on the way down.

"_Nozomi-chaaaan_…" she whined, pouting. Terihaeru Nozomi laughed even more, and helped the poor, hapless Hikari to her feet. The girl wore another of her strange, hand-made outfits, purple- and white-striped, which consisted of trailing detached sleeves, a wrinkly purple skirt that showed quite a bit of her midriff between itself and the top, and rounded purple boots, their tops barely reaching her ankles. On top of her head, adorning her long, black hair, was a matching purple cap that somewhat resembled a cross between an overlarge beret and one of those flat salad bowls used in the café downstairs.

"You forgot, didn't you? I knew you did," Nozomi lectured as she watched Hikari rummage through her drawer, looking for something to wear.

"Forgot what? It's not my birthday," Hikiari said, "because I usually forget that, but it was several months ago." Then she froze. "You don't mean I forgot…?!"

"You dope! Today's the day that everyone who graduated the academy gets assigned to a cell! It's one of the most important days in your entire Kuonichi career and you completely forgot! Here, put this on."

Hikari took the slightly bulky package and started pulling out suspiciously familiar clothing items.

"Hey, this is the outfit you were using me as a dummy for, isn't it?!" Inwardly, Hikari sighed at having to wear another infamous Nozomi-designed costume, and on the day they met their cell mentor, no less.

"Stop thinking that. You have my assurance that it is _very _cute. I had to put some finishing touches on it, so I asked you to come over. Put it on, hurry!" That's right. Nozomi had told Hikari to stop thinking. Nozomi was an unusually gifted girl—she heard others' thoughts in the same way that normal people heard voices, and felt their emotions similar to winds of various temperatures. Naturally privy to others' thoughts and emotions, she was an invaluable moderator in disputes, not to mention perfect ANBU interrogator material. The Black Ops already had agents visiting her home and trying to persuade her to that particular career. Nozomi, who fought for peace and never to kill, politely refused them all and redirected them to her sister, a slightly more violent girl who saw possible futures in dreams.

Hikari obediently pulled on the uncomfortably low-cut outfit: first a dark purple low-cut long-sleeved shirt and tights. Then a metal guard strapped over her shoulders and around her back. Over _that_ was a light blue kimono-type thing with no sleeves to speak of, cut maybe at best to her thighs, and, causing her to sigh deeply, even more low cut than the metal (on the back of this was an emblem of crossed black and white wings). All this tied with a purple obi. On her hands went gloves that almost reached the nonexistent sleeves of the kimono (open-fingered), and Nozomi's fashionable (Hikari wondered about that part) take on the traditional Shinobi boots: a purple and white thing with silver buttons up the side. Hikari tied her hite-ate on and looked in the mirror. The clothes were… cold… up top, but acceptable, even conservative, compared to what some of her classmates were prone to wearing. _Especially Pai. Only fifteen and already in nothing but a bikini and armor._

"And for the finishing touch," Nozomi announced, tying a purple choker around her friend's neck, from which dangled a gold pendant in the shape of a wing, replacing the blue ribbon she generally wore to hide her only valuable item from the world: a rare blue crystal held to her neck by several thin lines of solid gold wire. "Perfect! You look marvelous! You are a designer's _dream_, Hikari-chan!"

"…Right…"

"Now, let's go! We can still make it if we run!"

And thus, a new day in Leaf Village began with two best friends dashing for their lives down the street, so as to avoid being late for meeting their teams.

"I had another strange dream last night," Hikari said, taking deep breaths as she ran.

"Was it about penguins, like the last three?" Nozomi asked with a laugh, easily keeping stride.

"No. I can't really remember the details, but--!" She seemed to vanish in front of Nozomi's eyes.

"Hikari-chan!"

"Anyway…" Hikari said, looking up from the ground. She had tripped on a crack in the sidewalk.

"Geez, Hikari-chan, what are we going to do with you?" Nozomi pulled her friend back on her feet and they resumed their pace and conversation.

"It was all reddish-brown, I think. And it had something to do with a Wave. Oh, and a tower."

"What is a Wave? Like at the beach?" Nozomi asked.

"No, I think it had something to do with chakra. Mabye," Hikari said, "Gah! I'm still confused over it! Oh. We're here already?" They looked up to see the somewhat battered school building, in place ever since the creation of the village, looming over them. Then they glanced at their watches.

"Holy timewarp! We're gonna be late!"

* * *

Hikari and Nozomi stumbled in through the door, where their other classmates were waiting.

"Hmph. Slowpokes," came a voice from the back row. Nozomi and Hikari both looked up as a boy detached himself from a crowd of admirers and rivals to greet them.

"Hey, Kujaku-kun! Sorry, um… Nozomi-chan had to wake me up this morning…" Aku-chi Kujaku extended a fist to them, his black hair still tied back in a ponytail, purple eyes gleaming with mischief. He was decked out in red, black, and silver, with chains and symbols of a flame and dagger-shaped ice crossed, designed by Nozomi, of course. Both girls met his fist with their own in greeting.

"No worries. Iruka-sensei isn't here yet. You're safe."

"Oh, Iruka-sensei!" Nozomi exclaimed, looking behind them. Kujaku and Hikari both jumped; Hikari tripped afterwards and landed on her face.

"Get in your seats, you three. Looks like we might finally break up the Twilight Brigade once and for all." The three looked at each other and gulped. Midori Atoli, Tsukuyomi Haseo, and Suwa Kurogane, also Twilight Brigade members (Kurogane and Haseo were division leaders), looked around anxiously from their seats in front.

The year that Hikari had arrived in Leaf, missing half her memory and very dazed, she joined the small group, Twilight Brigade (started by a Genin named Kohonomaru during his Academy days and was originally called the Kohonomaru Corps). It was an organization dedicated to solving the mysteries of Kohona Village. It had even earned a sort of respect by having its very own corner of the class, where they could hold meetings and nobody bothered them.

Little did they know that this tiny group of students would eventually span all of the classes of the Ninja Academy, and even in the ninja ranks as far as Chunin. Hikari's knack for inventing immediately threw her up in the ranks to Auto-Mail (2nd Division, known for its large content of grease monkeys and mecha otaku) leader. The leader of Harvest Light (3rd Division, mostly support-type ninja and those studying to be medics) was Nozomi, who soon became Hikari's best friend in the whole world. After that, more and more students joined, including Kujaku, recruited by Nozomi herself. In those few months he worked all the way up to the leader of Flamberge (5th Division, mainly the hothead-types who liked to attack first). Villagers could always tell a T. Brigade member because of the painted decorations on their faces or arms. Each division had its own symbol and color, so they painted their division on themselves as a form of ranking. And, of course, all division leaders had their clothes made by Nozomi, which is why they stood out so much.

Rarely seen alone, Hikari, Nozomi, and Kujaku were notorious among and outside of the Brigade for unintentionally messing up yards, workplaces, and basically getting underfoot while searching for clues to the various mysteries that needed solving. Only Hikari, who worked part-time at a café, was seen often without the other two.

"All right. Time to announce the cells. Cell One for this year is…" Hikari, Nozomi, Kujaku, and some of the other T. Brigade members spent the time scribbling notes to each other, one of which read:

_Hi- I hope I end up in a cell with at least one of you guys…_

_N- me too._

_Kuj- Yeah. Do you think we'll be able to keep the T. Brigade in touch?_

_Hi- I already have a solution for that._

_Kuro- Your latest invention?_

_Hi- _

_At- Oh, it's those little walkie-talkies you showed me! You have one for every member?!_

_Hi- You bet! I gave them all out the last day of school. I've been working on the Division Leaders' last, because they have extra functions._

_Kuro- o. Ok. __What sort of functions?_

_Hi- Recording sound, storing data, taking chakra signatures for tracking, calling Dragonflys, taking pictures, etc. Useful stuff. Oh, and you can send out a distress signal to any T. B. member, and use it as a light._

_N- Sounds nifty. What do the others' do?_

_Ha- the light, signal, recording sound and pictures. Basic things. Silabus-kohai showed me. So. I heard that in addition to the Konoha branches, the T.B. now has a Suna branch as well?_

_N- Yes. AIDA leader Yata-senpai did a mission in Suna and ended up starting a few branches there._

_Kuro- So how many divisions do we have again?!_

_Ha- I think we have about 15._

_Kuj- Oy vey… why can't we just come up with a good ranking system and leave it at the original 7 divisions?!_

At that point, Kurogane (Miko's Dogs (6th Division) leader), in his usual black yukata and hakama, with the black crescent moon on a red background as his family's sign, and wearing his sword, Sohi, belted at his waist, was called for cell 4, along with Terihaeru Tomoyo, Nozomi's identical twin sister; and with some odd twist of fate, Kurogane's Second (in command), Li Syaoran, a sinewy boy with brown hair and amber eyes, blind in one, about whom not much else was known than an interest in archaeology.

Right afterward, Haseo of the Azure Scythe (Azure (7th Division) leader) wearing a black belted shirt, pants, gloves, and boots, with white hair and red eyes, was called with Atoli from Harvest Light, who had short sand-blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a pale green dress, bloomers, a round hat with a tassel, and heels (_not exactly practical,_ Hikari thought, shaking her head). Accompanying them was Pai, in tight, _extremely_ revealing dark red clothes, armored gloves, and high boots. Her long pink hair was done in whip-like pigtails, and her red-pink eyes gazed coldly over her classmates. Pai was a hotshot from The First (1st Division had no nickname), who made it a point to scold (and sometimes punish) those who misbehaved when Iruka was absent from the room. As a rule, she didn't socialize with anyone but her brother, Khun, except on business.

Nozomi projected to Hikari and Kujaku a single thought: _Tomoyo-chan's going to _kill_ poor Kurogane-kun._

* * *

"Finally, only two cells left." The remaining eight genin all looked around nervously. At least half the group were rivals with one another, and they all knew that two would be going home to wait for the next class's extras.

"Cell Thirteen is… kami above…! What were they _thinking?!_" Iruka sighed, and read the names off the list: "Aku-chi Kujaku, Terihaeru Nozomi, and… Aizawa Hikari." A cheer erupted from the Twilight Brigade, especially for Hikari, who was well liked but often worried the others with her abysmal Phys-Ed grades.

Almost immediately after the last group was announced, the mentors started to walk in. One by one, the cells left with their new mentors. Soon, only Hikari's and Haseo's cells were left waiting. They sat in silence for a half hour, until Iruka packed up his materials and left for the day. Then they played poker, with candy as the prize. And told ghost stories; Hikari cowered in a corner and covered her ears, lest she have nightmares. And built a human ladder to peek in the class above by leaning out the window, which nearly resulted in a catastrophe when someone decided to _open_ it just as they got a good grip on the sill. And afterwards they did something quiet for once, and played Mahjong (which Nozomi, by some instinct, had brought to pass time). Thus when the mentor for cell 9 walked in, he arrived to the shuffling of tiles across the floor.

Everyone looked up, including Pai (who was tall, but still sitting in order to play). The ninja stared down on them with an expression of mild-interest-despite-having-just-woken-up-five-minutes-ago. Hikari could not tell if he was bored, asleep on his feet, drunk, or some mixture of the three, and seemed incredibly sloppy with his hite-ate hanging over one eye like it just fell that way and he never bothered to fix it. They couldn't infer much by the clothing, either; this ninja didn't differ from any of the others of the upper ranks, since there were very few shinobi (besides prodigy-type exceptions) that, by the time they finally reached Chunin rank, wanted to wear anything distinctive beyond the usual cargo vest, sweats, and wraps. The only difference was that he covered half of his face (over half, if one included the sloppy headband). _Why?_ Hikari wondered, _Is he scared of people or something?_ His hair, long and silver, fell everywhere. The one visible eye was currently fixed on the mahjong game. Hikari got the impression that under the mask, he was smiling at the oddity of young people playing a game from a much older generation.

"Mahjong is traditionally played in the Rice Fields country during funerals," he said by way of introduction. "There, it is believed that the sound of the shuffling tiles calms the dead spirit and sends it safely to the next life." Hikari shivered, Nozomi patted her gently on the shoulder with a consoling smile, and everyone else just sat there with dumb looks.

"Didn't know they increased the cell size to six. Looks like they want us to keep busy this year." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm you cell mentor, Hatake Kakashi-san. Now, if you will follow me… Yes, what is it, um…"

"Atoli, Kakashi-sensei. There's, um… two cells here." Atoli looked up innocently, giving a hopeful smile. Pai huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. Haseo simply rolled his eyes.

"Oh?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, looking over the intermixed groups: thin, wiry Haseo, sitting next to the more muscular Kujaku, who wore an expression of absolute loathing towards someone in the group, though not directed to the former; short, stick-like Atoli, innocent and obviously naïve to a fault; serene, slightly amused Nozomi, still trying to dispel her friend's threatening nightmare; cheery, energetic Hikari, the one whom the nightmare was threatening, and the main topic of discussion among the upper-level shinobi, though not for her rumored mechanical genius; and cold, uber-logical Pai, who sat haughtily, believing herself the sole voice of reason in the world.

"You're not the only one late," Haseo said, leaning back against a step.

"So what cells are you?"

"Nine and Thirteen."

"I'm here for Nine. Cell Nine, follow me." Haseo, Pai, and Atoli rose and followed Kakashi out of the room.

"Good luck," Haseo called back to cell Thirteen. Thirteen returned the well-wishes to their friends as door closed. A moment of awkward silence passed over…

"Hey, Hikari-chan, wasn't that just…?"

"Yeah, you're right! Hatake Kakashi-san, the ninja infamous for failing every cell he's ever mentored!" Hikari exclaimed to Nozomi.

"Except one," Kujaku muttered, "Too bad _we_ couldn't have been older. Then _our_ cell would have been the first. I wonder if they got a trophy." He sighed wistfully and flopped backward onto the floor, purposefully ignoring its hardness. "Great. Now we're _really_ all alone. You know what? I'm getting annoyed at this mentor dude. Why don't we take a _really_ chalky eraser and…"

"Forget it, Kujaku-kun. That's the perfect way to end your career before you even start it… Ohmigosh, what if we get someone really strict?!" Hikari worried.

"What if we get a pervert?" Nozomi thought in return.

"What if he's a lazy bum?!"

"What if he doesn't take us seriously?!"

"What if he doesn't show up because he forgets about us?!"

"What if he doesn't show up at all because he thinks we're hopeless?!"

"What if your fears are completely baseless and he appears within the next five minutes and turns out entirely normal?!" Kujaku snapped. "Let's just play some more Mahjong. Winner gets the jawbreakers and a medal."

The girls groaned and turned to reshuffling the tiles, keeping the rest of their silent fears to themselves.

* * *

**Stats Report:**

Party formed: Kujaku (Twin Blade), Nozomi (Wavemaster), Hikari (Gunner)!

Kujaku has been promoted!

Nozomi has been promoted!

Hikari has been promoted!

Kujaku has earned the title "Treasure Hog"!

Nozomi has earned the title "Best Friend"!

Hikari has earned the title "Klutz"!

* * *

_Hi! It's great to be back writing for everyone again! You may wonder why everything is so odd right now. You're probably wondering about the unrelated characters popping up everywhere, too. The deal is, I needed names and faces. They won't become major characters (I hope!), but they do play a few roles in the plot. Now, if this were a video game, the opening for part one would be __Spica, by Maaya Sakamoto. Part two would have __ Heaven's Not Enough, from __Wolf's Rain. Part three's opening would be __Almateria, from the __Tales of Symphonia anime (even though the language is supposedly made up, it's still good). Yeah, I tend to do things in threes, don't I? Please give me ideas! I've got a rough outline for the plot but it literally is only the framework! I can't wait to see your suggestions!_

* * *

_Omake Time!_

**The Twilight Brigade**

Kohona Branch

**Division One (The First)**

_Emblem: Chakra Swirl on an orange background_

_Symbol: Red spiral on the left shoulder_

_Leader (Twilight Brigade Leader)_: Kohonomaru (Shinobi)

_Second_: unknown

_Members: _Pai (Tribal Grappler), Jinx (Ranger), Udon (Wavemaster), Rue Ryuzaki (Informant)

**Division Two (Auto-Mail)**

_Emblem: Black and white crossed wings on a blue background_

_Symbol: Two green bands on each upper arm._

_Leader_: Aizawa Hikari (Gunner/Mechanic)

_Second_: unknown

_Members:_ Winry (Mechanic), Silabus (Blade Brandier)

**Division Three (Harvest Light)**

_Emblem: Yellow staff on a white background_

_Symbol: Purple "collar" around the neck_

_Leader_: Terihaeru Nozomi (Wavemaster)

_Second_: Haruno Sakura (Medic/Tribal Grappler)

_Members: _Atoli (Wavemaster), Terihaeru Tomoyo (Dream Seer), Hyuuga Hinata (Medic)

**Division Four (AIDA)**

_Emblem: Gold Ouroboros on a pale blue background_

_Symbol: an orange eye, vertical, on the forehead_

_Leader_: Yata-sempai (Macabre Dancer)

_Second_: Ovan-sempai (Gunner)

_Members:_

**Division Five (Flamberge) **

_Emblem: The legendary sword Flamberge on a dark purple background_

_Symbol: Red flame on the right shoulder_

_Leader_: Aku-chi Kujaku (Twin Blade)

_Second_: unknown

_Members:_ Inuzuka Kiba (Wilds Fighter)

**Division Six (Miko's Dogs)**

Emblem: A black dragon.

_Symbol: Black moon on the back of the left hand_

_Leader_: Suwa Kurogane (Blade Brandier)

_Second_: Kinomoto Syaoran (Blade Brandier)

_Members:_ Rock Lee (Tribal Grappler), Aburame Shino (Wilds Fighter)

**Division Seven (Descendants of Fianna, also called Azure to save time)**

_Emblem: A blue triangle-shaped mark on a tan background._

_Symbol: Blue lightning-shaped marks over each eye_

_Leader_: Haseo of the Azure Scythe (Adept Rogue)

_Second_: Tenten of the Azure Sword (Adept Rogue)

_Members:_ Kuhn of the Azure Wolf (Gunner), Balmung of the Azure Sky (Blade Brandier), Orca of the Azure Sea (Edge Punisher)

Suna Branch

**Division Eight (Desert Storm)**

**Division Nine (Cobalt Knights)**

**Division Ten (Moon Tree)**

**Division Eleven (Efreet)**

**Division Twelve (Landspeeder)**


	5. Chapitre Two: First Test

**Chapitre Two: A Training**

Uzumaki Naruto was known for sleeping late. He was also known for a lot of other things that didn't exactly help his reputation. For example, it is said among experienced shinobi that a little help at the right time was a lot better than a lot of help at the wrong time. As it were, Naruto tended to be that lot of help that came at exactly the worst possible moment. Not that it deterred him from his goal in the least. In fact, he nearly prided himself in the fact that he could get into and out of the worst situations imaginable with most, although rarely all, of his body intact.

Naruto's training schedule consisted of getting up whenever the alarm happened to ring (sometimes on a bad day he would throw it out the window for another five minutes of silence), eating breakfast, and an hour or so of hard exercise. Then he threw out the junk mail on the way to more training with his mentors and colleagues.

Another thing Naruto seemed to be good at was throwing out important papers with the day's junk mail, which was precisely what he had done the day before.

On this fine morning, Naruto was aroused by someone banging on his door. That someone being the garbage man, who had found something which he might want to look twice at.

"Do you freaking know what time it is?!" he shouted in the hapless man's face, also holding up the alarm clock, which dutifully informed him that it was 4 in the morning, as evidence to the crime of disturbing his sleep. Actually, the man wasn't the only one. Ever since he had come back to the village with Jiraiya the day before, he had been met with one shocking change after another, the least of which being everyone had become a Chuunin but him. When he climbed up on a flagpole to say "hello" to the village, a white bike thing flew past his face! The guy riding it didn't even apologize! And on the main streets, big machines were rolling around, doing all the things that carts and oxen and horses and humans had done when just two years ago. In the air, big bird-like things flew all over the place, spouting fire from their rears. But the worst part was that the quiet buzz-hum of the machines kept him awake all night. And there was that new club thing, that Twilight Brigade. Everyone was in it, even people like Sakura-chan. He couldn't get used to the feeling. In _his_ time, none of this stuff existed. It was like… like a ninja from thousands of years ago going on a trip, only to come back in modern times and find things like television and the internet and indoor plumbing. Naruto felt like Rip van Winkle.

Rip van Winkle with no sleep.

Rip van Winkle going crazy.

He wondered if the Ero-Sannin felt the same way.

There was a full minute of silence before the man regained enough composure to speak.

"You threw this out." The man shoved a letter into Naruto's hands. It was covered with the slimy, foul-smelling nastiness of the other trash, but still in its envelope, and thus still legible.

"Junk mail. So what?" the Genin asked defensively, figuring he was about to be accused of not signing up for some credit card deal. The man silently jabbed the seal on the back, which happened to be the seal of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, then walked away. The seal should explain itself, and if it didn't, Uzumaki Naruto was denser than anyone gave him credit for… which was saying something.

Naruto shrugged and closed the door, then went to the table to read. It was covered in various objects that needed to be cleared out of the way, so he shoved them gracelessly to the side, then opened the disgusting letter. What he read made him freeze in mid-sentence. He read it again. And a third time. And more times after that, until after reading the message for the fiftieth time he finally worked up enough nerve to think.

_Is this some kind of practical joke? I didn't know that Tsunade-obachan would bother going this far. But… my rank…? Ha! It must mean I'm even closer to being the next Hokage than I realized!_ Victory ringing through his head, he glanced at the date.

* * *

It was now four-thirty and Naruto had forced his way into the school after asking around for a person named "Aizawa Hikari". As it turned out, neither Hikari nor her two partners had returned home the day before, so he was going to have to search for them himself. Experience told him that when people went missing, they usually didn't turn up right away. Not if they were alive. Not if they were in one piece. Therefore, the fact that their corpses weren't dumped on his doorstep or something was actually very comforting. Two Shadow Clones were already wandering the village in different directions, doing some searching of their own. Naruto checked in on them every once and awhile, still getting the same depressing result: "Nothing found." "We got nada." The real ninja became more frustrated by the minute.

"Ugh… schools are really creepy at night…" he muttered, looking into yet another window. _Empty. Empty. Empty. Freaking empty classrooms. Why am I even here?!_

_Your instincts told you to look here first,_ said the annoying part of him that he didn't often listen to. Then, Naruto heard footsteps in the hall, which seemed to be moving very quickly, and whispers of what sounded like a quiet, heated debate. Naruto followed the voices.

"We're trapped, darnit! We can't get out!" a masculine voice grumbled, followed by a few loud stomps and a quiet _shhh!_

"Last I heard, that _was_ the definition of the word 'trapped'," replied a soft female voice.

"Shut _up_, Nozomi-chan! I don't need you spouting Spock-isms this early in the morning! And I don't want to spend another hour in this creepy school!"

_Creepy is right_, Naruto thought, sidling along the wall to minimize his shadow and create less of a target. _They sound too young to be kidnappers… but then again, you can never tell with ninja, right?_

"_Kujaku-kun_, it was _your_ idea to stay and wait in the first place, remember?"

"And we all fell asleep waiting," an energetic girl's voice added. "I'm hungry, too…"

"We're all hungry, Hikari-chan. That's why we're going to get out, okay?"

"Humph. Everything's different at night… almost like a ghost is going to appear…" That was Kujaku.

"_Don't say that, Kujaku-kun!_" Hikari shouted, her panicked shout ringing through the halls.

"What… _ghost_?" Kujaku laughed as Hikari whimpered. Nozomi scolded him for his behavior.

_What kind of shinobi is scared of ghosts?!_ Naruto thought, moving closer. He peeked around the corner and stopped, instantly spotted. The others turned around to stare at him.

Kujaku was thin and wiry, with long hair, and wore dual blades, one at each hip, along with this black-red-chains get-up that even Naruto found a little odd. His eyes were a deep purple. Nozomi was slightly shorter, also with long hair. She wore various shades of purple on a costume that made Naruto instantly think of a magic-user from some sort of RPG. The third one, who could only be Hikari, stood behind Nozomi. She was the smallest of all, her costume purple and metal, and more ninja-looking than either of the others. She had short brown hair, blue eyes, and looked like she should have been in third grade. _A prodigy?_

"State your business, intruder!" Kujaku spat almost as soon as he saw the older Genin, his hands flying to his blades. Naruto responded in kind, his own hand going to the shuriken holster at his hip.

"Is that any way to speak to your new commanding officer?!" Naruto demanded with the same hostility.

"You mean _you_," Kujaku demanded, waving a vague hand at Naruto, "are our cell mentor?! Get real!"

"He's telling the truth, Kujaku-kun," Nozomi said, gently removing one of his hands from a sword hilt. Kujaku growled a bit more at her, getting more and more frustrated as Nozomi continued to use reason.

Naruto, meanwhile, was feeling very annoyed and ignored, and was about to order them to shut up when the argument of human hotheadedness against Vulcan logic was ended with two short flashes of light and laser-sounds. Hikari held her phaser-pistol in the air, cringing and looking away from where she had fired.

"It doesn't matter who he is. He's our mentor and if you want to argue with someone, I'd say you should take it up with Lady Hokage," Hikari said, shoving the phaser back in its holster. "Not that my opinion matters, of course…"

Kujaku and Nozomi silenced, and looked at one another. Kujaku shrugged and they put their fists together.

"Follow me." Naruto turned on his heels, dispelled his clones throughout the village, and realized suddenly that the younger ninja had followed him without complaint. _I knew being the leader would be awesome!_

* * *

"Tsunade-hime… I'm still not exactly sure I understand your reasoning concerning this cell's organization," Iruka said for at least the third time during the conversation with the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade.

"Let's just call it an experiment," Tsunade replied, crossing her arms and looking out the window onto the village that she was charged to protect and govern. "As you know, due to recent events, the village doesn't have enough Jounin to lead all the cells. However, we need all the new shinobi we can get. This has put us in a strange situation, especially since the cell involved includes a known telepath and possibly the greatest scientific mind our country has ever been blessed with. There is a village in a small country that teaches its shinobi by allowing them to learn from all of their peers rather than just a single mentor. The entire village becomes their mentors after their graduation. I figured that the same could work here. Although Uzumaki-kun will be their mentor in name, I am hoping that their seniors will take on the opportunity to teach these three together. I do understand that there is still some enmity among some of the new Chuunin in this village, and perhaps this can serve as a double purpose of uniting our shinobi for a reason other than war. Rivalry is acceptable, but when it gets to the point of hatred, that is when we have a problem."

"So… you're hoping to bring the village's shinobi together by having them work together to train this cell?" Iruka asked in disbelief.

"Like I said, it was an experiment. In turn, they will likely receive education from most of the jounin, as well. This cell, quite frankly, is the strangest grouping I've ever seen. I have no idea what their skill-set is and who would be best for them. They are all enigmas."

_I just hope it works, especially for your sake, Naruto-kun,_ Iruka thought, turning his attention to the sunrise, visible through the office's wide window.

* * *

The cell sat in a quiet area semi-distant from the bustle of everyday life, colored pinkish by the dawn colors. It suddenly hit home that the roles were reversed now; Naruto was no longer in the role of pupil. _He_ was the master, and sitting in front of him were his first students, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and looking at him expectantly. _And they probably don't know I'm still a Genin myself!_ he thought.

"How about some introductions?" he said from his spot, perched on top of a crate. Hikari looked at him with childish curiosity mixed with innocence. Nozomi sat calmly with kindness and deep thought registering in her eyes. Kujaku sat tense, ready for anything, with a fire in his eyes like a predator eyeing a piece of meat. Naruto pointed to Hikari. She sprang up, immediately fell over with a crash, and stood up a little more slowly, her face burning with embarrassment.

"Hikari-chan does it again…" the Kujaku muttered.

"Thanks _so much_ for caring, Kujaku-kun," she muttered under her breath. "My name's Aizawa Hikari, I am 12 years old…"

"_No freaking way_!" Naruto shouted suddenly, jumping up. "I thought you were nine for sure!"

"It's all true," Kujaku pointed out flatly, trying to keep a straight face. Hikari, however, looked as if someone had dropped a gigantic stone block reading "nine years old" on her head.

"Just keep going," Nozomi whispered to her. Hikari took a deep breath before continuing.

"Um… um… my favorite food is cookies. I work part-time at the Free Bird Café and I like to build things. My favorite color is blue, my favorite animal is a bird, and… hmm… someday, I want to see the world. And, um, as you know now, I'm… a bit of a klutz." She sat down, the invisible "nine years old" block still weighing heavily on her shoulders.

"Next."

" Terihaeru Nozomi, 12, as well. My favorite food is… um… well, I suppose it would be oden. I don't have a job, but I like to make costumes, especially for my friends. Around Halloween, people sometimes pay me for that, so I guess it really is a job, after all. I like… hmm… cats, a little, and purple. I just want to help my friends and my sister out and make my parents proud." Kujaku clapped Nozomi on the back as she sat down.

"And you?"

The third guy grinned. "Aku-chi Kujaku! 13! I like all kinds of pizza. I also like tigers, the color red, and training. I train all the time so I can win stuff! My goal is to win every challenge presented to me and demand a reward. And one day I'm going to show all the rewards I got to my… erm… Oh, wait, that's personal."

"Okaaay…" _Just my luck to be thrown in with a treasure hog,_ he thought, continuing, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto…"

"No, way!" Kujaku almost jumped out of his skin.

"_The_ Uzumaki Naruto?!"

"The guy who ran off with that old pervert Jiryia then came back after two years as if nothing had happened?!"

"… Aren't you supposed to be a genin?" This last comment came from Nozomi.

_They know me?! Wait, they know me! I'm famous!_ Naruto thought. "You bet! I'm 14, I like ramen, and my full-time job as of now is training you three! As for animals, I like frogs, and my favorite color is orange. My goal is to become the next Hokage! And you three are going to help me out by becoming the best three ninja Kohonagakure has ever seen, got it? Right now I need to… um…" he scrambled to remember the instructions of the letter, "to give you a test. All Genin have to pass this test, or else they have to go back to the Academy. It ain't gonna be easy!"

"Alright! Our first day of training!" Kujaku jumped up and thrust a fist into the air. The empty crates beneath him wobbled violently.

"Kujaku-kun, please sit down or you'll fall," Nozomi replied calmly.

* * *

When they arrived at said training grounds, however, they found it was already occupied… by none other than cell nine. Or, at least, that was what Kakashi said. They were probably off hiding somewhere trying to think of a plan to get the two jingly bells from him. Naruto purposefully stomped his group over to the river to disturb his old master's concentration, part as a joke and part in pity for the cell under Kakashi's tutelage. When he finally stopped, Naruto pulled some beautiful gemstones from his pocket and tossed them in his hand.

"Those…!" Hikari yelled loudly. Naruto gave her a questioning look, and the girl paused… "Are really pretty," she finally said with a smile.

"Okay. You guys see what they're doing over in that field? We're doing the same thing… except we're going to use these shiny rocks I found. You people have to get these rocks from me, and whoever doesn't get one is going to be tied to a pole for the whole day without any food!"

"Oh my," Nozomi exclaimed softly, putting a hand to her cheek.

Kujkau gulped. He had incredibly low mileage. At the mention of not having food, he immediately started to feel hungry. Hikari's eyes were still glued to the shiny rocks. _Easily distracted, much?_ Naruto thought, grinning and getting ready to deliver the bombshell…

"Oh, and if you get tied to that pole, you have to go back to school for a whole 'nother year! Attack as if you mean to kill, 'cause I'm not going to go easy on you."

* * *

"So one of us is going back to school?! That's not fair!" Kujaku fumed, crossing his arms. He and Hikari sat in the cover of a bush, trying to come up with a plan of action. Nozomi was up in a tree watching their mentor while the other two waited for a status report.

"What if two of us hold a stone together? Or all three of us hold both of them together?" Hikari asked for possibly the fifteenth time.

"Because that way we would only have half a stone each!" Kujaku snapped for about the fourteenth time. It had taken the first time for him to do the math, which was still incorrect.

"But what would be the point in having three cell members if one of them was going back to school? And how would other cells of three not have to go back even when passing the same test?"

Kujaku thought for a moment, then grinned.

"It's because they figured out the secret: there must be a third rock! And if _they_ found it, that means _we_ can, too!" Kujaku folded his arms and nodded decisively.

"Yeah, that's got to be right!" Hikari agreed. The idea of a hidden third rock made a lot of sense to her.

"Of course it's right. _I'm_ the one who thought of it!"

_"I think he's officially bored out of his mind,"_ Nozomi announced in their mics, staring out at Naruto, who was lying on the grass and staring at the clouds.

"But one last thing before we do this… What was with that outburst? You know, when he pulled out the rocks?"

"Oh, I just thought they were pretty," Hikari bubbled cheerfully. "But you know… I swear I've seen something very similar before…"

_"Guys, he's fallen asleep. If we want to get those stones, now's our chance," _crackled the voice over then comm link.

"All right! Let's put our plan in action!" Kujaku grinned and made a fist.

Hikari started to protest that they didn't even _have_ a plan, but Kujaku was already rushing out into the open. Just as he reached their "sleeping" mentor, the real (?) Naruto appeared behind him, lifted the boy up into the air, and hurled him away. The sleeping Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, signaling it was a bunshin.

Kujaku executed a midair flip and managed to land on his feet ten meters away. This time, his twin swords were drawn as he charged Naruto again, with little to no actual plan other than "slice and dice". The older genin easily dodged each thrust with a sidestep, then brought the pommel of a kunai down on Kujaku's hand, hard. The boy yelped and dropped his sword, massaging the hand. Naruto was just about to strike when a bright blue bolt of energy leapt from Hikari's weapon and struck him, throwing him off his feet and into a clump of nearby bushes.

"Geez, Hikari-chan, what'd you have to go and do that for? I had everything under control!" Kujaku whined as the girl came out into the open.

_"Of course you did, Kujaku-kun,"_ Nozomi said soothingly in his mic. Needless to say, it didn't help his mood.

"Did he drop any rocks?" Hikari asked, looking around. She spotted a glint near the bushes that Naruto had just crashed through, right beneath a big tree. "Oh, there's one. I'll go get it!"

"No, Hikari!"

_"It might be a…"_

"AIEEE!"

"Trap…" Kujaku and Nozomi sighed together as Hikari was suddenly scooped up by a net.

_"I suppose we'll have to get her out now…"_

Hikari looked down at the ground beneath her. What she had thought was a gemstone was, in fact, a mirror, which reflected the light and the green of the tree above her. She saw herself, the net, and the sky, reflected on its surface. And also the grinning face of Naruto. She looked up. Their genin-sensei waved cheekily, stuck out his tongue, then vanished into the foliage. Hikari tugged on the ropes and the net came loose, depositing her in a graceless heap. The others caught up to her and helped her to her feet, with much scolding.

"Well. On to Plan B?" Kujaku asked hopefully, looking around.

"We didn't even have a Plan _A_, remember?" Hikari replied, trying to come up with an idea or two. "Hey, Nozomi-chan. You hear thoughts as voices, right?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, that's right," Nozomi answered.

"And they get quieter from farther away?"

"Mmhmm," the miko replied, suddenly realizing where Hikari was going with this. "You want me to track him by following his thoughts?"

"Yeah! That way we can catch up to him!" Hikari said, glad her friend had gotten her idea so quickly. Kujaku crossed his arms and pouted.

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be the leader here!"

"But we never decided on a leader," Hikari replied, confused.

"A leader should be strong and intelligent," Nozomi reminded him.

"Well, I'm strong and intelligent! _And_ I'm really smart!" Kujaku paused as the others gave him funny looks. "W-wait, that came out wrong!"

"And technically, Hikari outranks us in the Brigade, so _she_ should be leader," Nozomi pointed out, emphasizing her line of reasoning with her index finger in the air.

"Well, I say _I'm_ the leader, and as such, I order Nozomi-chan to track Uzumaki-sensei by his thoughts," Kujaku announced, trying to salvage some of the dignity scrapped by his previous statement. Nozomi picked up the trail and they started off, trying hard not to dissolve into giggles as Kujaku tried his best to look leaderly.

* * *

Naruto found it incredibly easy to fool the new genin, especially that little girl. _Hard to believe she's twelve. I thought for sure she was in third grade or so,_ he thought, swinging easily into the uppermost branches of a large tree, where he could just wait until time was up. They would probably pass right underneath him, looking everywhere but above their heads. _You'd be surprised how many people forget to look up._ Chuckling, he pulled an insulated container of ramen out and began to eat it. Before he could get that first delicious, salty bite into his mouth, however, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Naruto jumped a mile and nearly dropped his chopsticks. Some of the broth splashed on the front of his favorite jacket.

"S-Sakura-chan!" he squeaked, trying not to blow his cover, "What're _you _doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Sakura replied. Slung over her arm was a basket filled with leaves and mosses. "I'm collecting medicinal herbs for Tsunade-hime."

"_Shhh!_ Not so loud!" Naruto hissed, making frantic "shush" motions. "I'm testing my new squad. You know, like the test we took just yesterday, except with these." He briefly pulled out the two gemstones, then returned them to his pocket. Sakura's eyes flashed with recognition, but she decided not to say anything. "Anyway, if you want to watch a good show, just stick around," the ninja concluded, leaning against the trunk of the tree again to enjoy his ramen.

* * *

"Up," Nozomi said, hearing each thought as clear as speech. "He's in the trees. There's someone else with him." She slung her wooden staff over her back and started to climb, as easily as Naruto had. After her, Kujaku started up the tree, leaving Hikari staring doubtfully at the trunk. She couldn't climb to save her life.

"You coming, Hikari-chan?" Kujaku asked, looking back at her. Hikari nodded fiercely, then gulped. She put her hands on the tree and started scrambling up behind them, slipping down one step for every two she took.

* * *

"Don't look now, Naruto-kun, but your students are smarter than you thought," Sakura pointed out. She hadn't wanted to stay, but her finely honed "medic senses" were telling her that her skills might be necessary very soon.

Naruto looked down in mid-bite. The kuonichi was right. He noticed the little girl, _What was her name… Hitori? Hikari?_ struggling up the tree, miles behind the other two. Finally, her chakra seemed to become un-sticky and she slid down the trunk, her hands scraping for a hold. Her teammates shouted at her and tried to climb down. Naruto watched tensely, ramen all but forgotten. Although he had first thought she was using her chakra to climb, like the other two, he now noticed that there was no tell-tale shimmer around her hands and feet; no chakra usage at all. If she didn't catch herself within three more seconds, he would have to grab her. The little girl stopped with a jolt, leaving a bloody trail where her cut fingers had tried to hold on. Naruto smiled with relief. Until he saw more blood pouring to the faraway ground.

* * *

_I knew this was a really bad idea…_

Hikari forced herself to stay alert, despite the pain. At least she was alive. However, the jagged branch that now pierced through her leg pretty much shot her chances of passing the test. And even without that, the teachers probably wouldn't let her do any more climbing, at least until she re-grew a few fingernails. Nozomi and Kujaku came down beside her and helped her hack through the branch with kunai. Kujaku's sharp swords would have been quicker, but swords were ill-suited for that sort of thing because they were large and unwieldy, not meant for precise cutting jobs, especially when hanging on to a tree trunk for dear life.

Hikari forced a smile. "I'm fine, guys. Really. Just go on. I'll catch up." She topped it off with what she hoped was a convincing laugh. Her cellmates gave her scrutinizing looks.

"If there's one thing I've learned being in the Twilight Brigade with you," Kujaku announced, hoisting her onto his back, under protest, "It's that there's nothing more meaningless than one of Hikari-chan's 'I'm fine's. Man, it's a good thing you're so light. This is _nothing_ compared to the things that my sensei made me carry."

"Kujaku-kun, talking at her won't make it any better. The sooner we finish this test, the sooner we can get Hikari-chan looked at," Nozomi reminded him from higher up.

* * *

Naruto tried to jump from his branch toward his charges, but Sakura's enormous strength yanked him back.

"Sakura-chan, I've gotta help her!"

"Help her? She might be under your command, but at the moment, she's your enemy. 'Attack as if you mean to kill,' remember? This is supposed to be a realistic exercise. The enemy does _not_ run in to help you if you injure yourself. You wouldn't be doing them any favors by babying them."

Naruto could 't remember any time that he had ever wanted to hit his longtime crush, but right now, he wanted to slug her in the face. How could she just sit there and spout things like "realistic exercise" and "you're not doing them any favors", as if all that mattered were rules?!

Sakura saw she wasn't getting through to him. "Naruto-kun… just imagine, right now, that it was us three down there; you, me, and…" She bit off the last part; it was too painful. At the same moment, Naruto averted his eyes. A shared pain, like death, only worse. "You were the one who was hurt, and Kakashi-sensei stopped the whole thing just for you. The disappointment, the guilt… that would be more painful than any injury, wouldn't it?"

Naruto looked down in silence. After about a minute, he looked up again. "Did you spend the last two years training as a medic or as a psychologist?" he asked wryly. "Fine. But you're staying here with me, and you're going to take a look at that injury as soon as this is over."

"Of course. These herbs don't have to be back immediately; I have some time to kill."

* * *

"Good news. The new person is Sakura-sempai, so she probably won't be fighting," Nozomi announced. Finally, they reached a branch at about the same level that she registered Naruto to be moving. Hikari winced as Kujaku set her down.

"I'm sorry…"

"You know what?!" Kujaku finally snapped, "I'm tired of you just sitting there and… and _apologizing_, as if it was your fault! You're not allowed to say 'sorry' anymore, got it?!"

"_Kujaku-kun…_" Nozomi warned. Hikari looked down with an apologetic smile.

"Heh… sorry…"

Kujaku shook his head as he and Nozomi walked a little ways out on the branch. He crossed his arms and glowered across to where Naruto was still holding a conversation with Sakura. "Now what?! We'll never all pass the test at this rate. Everyone's gotta have a rock, but Hikari-chan's in no shape to be…"

"Shh! Don't talk so loudly!" Nozomi warned, with a glance toward Hikari.

"It's all right, I know what you're talking about," Hikari said, forcing herself to stand, leaning against the tree trunk and supporting herself with her good leg. "You're right. I can't pass this way. Let's face it, I can't walk or monkey-jump or climb right now, and I've got no chance of claiming one of those rocks for myself. But I can still help you guys get yours." Kujaku and Nozomi glanced at each other.

"Hikari-chan, what are you thinking…?"

* * *

Naruto gritted his teeth. It had been awhile since all three of the genin had vanished from sight. He figured they were up to something, but even with his advanced training, he couldn't locate them. He had given them until the sky was dark to complete the test, much longer than Kakashi had offered, and now the forest was bathed in twilight. The sound of a sci-fi movie ray gun echoed through the forest, startling birds into flight, leaving a smoking crater at Naruto's feet. More blue bolts rained around him whenever he tried to move out of the general area._ Crap, not good!_ He dispatched a few shadow clones to search for the sniper.

Nozomi took advantage of Hikari's sharp-shooting and jumped out at Naruto in a flash of gaudy purple, slapping a paper tag to his body. "_Moon!_" Naruto struggled, but couldn't move. He felt the spell break just as some shuriken sped out of the darkness.

"_Double Demon Fang!_" Naruto sidestepped the two shockwaves, then ducked as Kujaku launched his follow-up, jumping high in the air and bringing his swords down before him in a controlled fall: "_Rising Falcon!_" Instead of plunging his blades into Naruto's chest, Kujaku landed face-first on the grass and skidded for several feet.

"Epic fail!" Naruto announced, just before booting him in the rear, adding insult to injury.

Nozomi appeared behind him, swinging at his legs with her staff. Naruto jumped over it, then vanished in a puff of smoke. Nozomi's second strike slammed into a very battle-scarred log. She barely had time to register her "mistake" when Naruto wrenched back both of her arms. A clone charged forward, slamming a fist to her stomach. It pulled back for another, but before it could strike, it found itself staring in shock at ten thin lances protruding from its stomach. Two of the lances grazed his face, adding two more bloody whiskers.

"Don't touch Nozomi-chan." As the smoke from the defeated shadow clone vanished, Naruto caught a glimpse of glowing purple eyes with slitted pupils. What had at first looked like lances were actually Kujaku's fingernails, now two feet long and razor sharp.

* * *

Lying prone along the tree branch, Hikari watched the fight through the scope of her rifle, trying to stay conscious, firing bolts of phased chakra to keep Naruto from getting too far away. Now, the blood loss was catching up, and the light plastic and semimetal blaster rifle felt as heavy as solid gold. _With all that blood smeared on the branch and dripping to the forest floor, I'm surprised no wild animals have shown up to eat me,_ she thought in a state of semi-delirium.

"Found you!"

Hikari rolled over as fast as she could, dropping the rifle and flinging shuriken towards the Naruto clone. It vanished in a puff of smoke, but was replaced by another, and another. Hikari backed up on the branch, drawing one of the four pistols she wore at her hip and firing. Two more kage bunshin vanished. The stick in Hikari's leg snagged on the branch, causing her to scream and drop the pistol, too.

The Naruto clones moved closer, drawing kunai. A small, metal sphere rolled at the clone leader's feet.

"Huh?"

The bomb exploded, destroying the rest of the clones, leaving a big hole in the tree trunk and branch, and hurling Hikari into open space. Wind whistled past her ears. _Falling… I'm falling!_ But instead of tree branches and leaves, all she could see was blue sky and the retreating edge of a cliff, where stood a young man holding a bow, but she couldn't see his face. After that, she saw nothing at all.

* * *

Naruto couldn't stop staring at Kujaku's transformation. Suddenly, the sharp canines he had noticed earlier made perfect sense.

_Vampire! A real vampire!_

Nozomi took advantage of Naruto's distraction and wrenched herself free, drawing another tag. She slapped it to his forehead, making a hand sign.

"_Hanged Man!_"

Once again, Naruto couldn't move. Kujaku ducked beneath an outstretched arm and ripped open Naruto's pocket with his lance-fingernails, snatching up the stones. The spell broke again, but it was too late. Kujaku made a show of handing one of the stones to Nozomi, his nails shrinking to normal and his eyes flickering back to storm grey.

* * *

"So, do we pass or what?" the vampire demanded, grinning widely and displaying his fangs.

"I think you lost something, Naruto-kun." Sakura stepped out of the shadows of the forest, holding something in one arm and absently twiddling a blood-drenched stick in her free hand.

"Hikari-chan!"

"I fixed the wound and cleaned up any infections, and I gave her a few plasma pills, but it's only a field treatment. Let's get her to the hospital, okay?"

"Thank you very much, Sakura-san," Nozomi said, bowing low.

"It's no trouble at all, Nozomi-san." They started back to the village, monkey-jumping through the trees. The older two had to slow down so that the three younger genin could keep up, but they were still making good time. During the journey, something kept bothering Naruto. Finally, he spoke up.

"Sakura-chan, since when have you been on first name basis with that kid?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

"Since I joined the Twilight Brigade and got put in Harvest Light a year ago," Sakura replied, as if it was obvious.

"That Twilight Brigade again! What's so interesting that you _had_ to join?"

"The_ Epitaph of Twilight_," Sakura replied, fingering a bandage over her right hand.

"The what?" Naruto asked. He looked to the other two genin, whom he knew were Twilight Brigade members. They just shrugged.

"Everyone's got their own reasons for joining. Most of them are supernatural in nature," Nozomi replied. "Kujaku-kun is a vampire. I'm a telepath. Hikari-chan senses ghosts and spirits. Apparently, Kohonomaru saw a white ghost around the time you left. That's when the name was changed from 'Kohonomaru Ninja Corps' to 'Twilight Brigade'."

"No, that's not what happened at all," Kujaku interjected, "The name got changed because Jinx told him that 'Kohonomaru Corps' sounded pig-headed and selfish and he should change the name so people would join, right?"

"Remember, Kujaku-kun, it's futile to argue with a telepath," Nozomi replied, moving ahead to talk with Sakura.

"So that means I'm right! …Right?" Kujaku made a confused face. "Right…?!" Nobody answered him.

* * *

_Good evening, everybody! This is Kendansa again! I know this chapter wasn't as good as the last one, but for a long time I've been stuck with a severe writers' block! Hopefully, things will go smoother from now on! Next chapter will feature Dherris-Kharlan and everyone's alternate selves! I won't tell you the character equivalents; you'll have to figure that out for yourself! However, please continue to cheer everyone on!_

_Best wishes, from Kendansa!_

* * *

**Omake Time!**

_Meet the Twilight Brigade!_

The Twilight Brigade is an organization of "paranormal investigators", all ninja or ninja-in-training, who, among many other duties completely unrelated to anything remotely paranormal, investigate sightings of ghosts, spirits, demons, grudges, etc. In other words, they just run around and mess up people's yards, which make them disliked among much of the general public. They have two branches: the Kohona branch and the Suna branch. Divisions are the basis of the Twilight Brigade's ranking system. There are twelve total, seven of which are based in Kohona, and five of which are in Suna. Each Division leader is chosen by the Division One leader, and chooses their own Second in command. Twilight Brigade members are very well connected, so if you want to get a message to someone in Suna, all you need to do is tell a Twilight Brigade member and it should reach the other village within four days.

Each division has its own nickname. These were earned or chosen by the leaders during its formation. Some have specific meanings; for example, Flamberge mainly fights with fire-type jutsu or weaponry, and Auto-Mail is comprised mostly of techies, mecha otaku, and grease monkeys. Others were simply chosen at formation, like Womp Rats or Harvest Light. Yet more are awarded for outstanding service, such as the Descendants of Fianna, who all add Azure to their names as a title (ex. Balmung of the Azure Sky) to show they are true Descendants.


	6. Interlude

**Interlude**

_The girl opened her eyes; she was in Dherris-Kharlan again, staring at the rust-hued sky, but not in the place she usually started from. She got up from the floor and walked to one ruined wall. Not only was she in another place, she was several stories in the air. She turned around, and saw _them_._

_Two others. Maybe even travelers like herself._

_"Hey, I don't think I've seen _you_ around," said a strong-looking young man with a longsword strapped to his back leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his short blond hair, and sharp red eyes, wearing black cut-off pants, geta sandals without tabi socks, and an open orange jacket with black trim, which displayed his impressive muscles._

_"She might be from another tribe," added a thin, limber fellow with longish, messy blond hair that seemed very soft and fluffy, and blue eyes that stared into space, wearing a relaxed expression. His clothes looked rather like a thick wool sweater under leather armor, designed to provide complete maneuverability. There were two daggers at his back, in a leather case. He shared some similarities with the other blond guy, because both of them had six black lines on their face reminiscent of whiskers, and were about the same height. "Perhaps Morrigu Barrow or Ache Koeln?"_

_"If that's the case, she's an enemy, and I'd prefer not to think that. She doesn't look that fun to fight, being so scrawny," the muscular guy replied, examining her closely. "Perhaps one of our allies. Mac Anu, or maybe Dun Lorieg. What's your name, kid?"_

_The girl thought for a long time. "I don't know."_

_"Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" asked the thin guy. "How about… Aura. What do you think, Yasha?"_

_"Eh, I suppose it works," Yasha agreed with a nod._

_"Oh! Intro! I'm Gorre," said the limber fellow, jumping up to the newly christened Aura and shaking her hand, "pleased to meet you, Aura-chan! We're twins, by the way, me and Yasha."_

_"Fraternal, of course," Yasha added with a mischievous grin. "Otherwise we'd _both_ be blind!"_

_"You're blind?" Aura asked, looking at Yasha. Yasha looked shocked that anyone could suggest that._

_"Not him, me!" Gorre replied, pointing both index fingers at his face and grinning widely._

_"So. What brings you to Lia Fail, kid?" asked Yasha._

_"Lia… Fail? I thought it was Dherris-Kharlan!" Aura protested. The twins glanced at each other._

_"A little out of the loop, ain't she?"_

_"Maybe she hit her head on something?"_

_"Um, Dherris-Kharlan is the _world_. This city is Lia Fail," Yasha explained._

_"Oh. But the Lost Ones told me…"_

_"Lost Ones? Oh, the ghosts. You can't get a straight answer out of them for anything," Yasha grumbled. "Always talking in terms of riddles and epitaphs and waves."_

_"Yasha-san has no patience for riddles," Gorre confided, sidling up beside Aura and throwing an arm around her shoulder in a chummy way. "Come to think of it, he's a complete muscle-head."_

_"Hey!"_

_"But enough chitchat. What do you say we go meet some of the others?" Gorre offered, leading her out the door._

_"You mean there's _more_ of you?!"_

_"Welcome to the secret underground city of the Lia Fail tribe!" Gorre spread his arms wide, showing off the entire giant expanse under the building, which, as Aura realized halfway through the journey, was once a hospital. Worn yet squeaky-clean rags hung on wash-lines strung across supports and even hanging from the ceiling. As soon as they entered, people started to cluster around them._

_"What happened? Where did you go?"_

_"Did those creeps from Hulle Granz attack again?!"_

_"No, no, everything's okay," Yasha assured them, leading the way down the stairs. The gigantic crowd made a path for the three of them to get through. They went into another room, where a few people were grouped, holding a quiet discussion._

_"Meet the rest of the crew," Yasha announced, distracting them from their chat._

_"Baka! What were you two doing? You've missed half the meeting!" A woman with longish pink hair in a French braid stood up, glaring at them with green eyes. She wore a long red dress and a white apron, covered in ancient stains that someone had unsuccessfully tried to wash out._

_"Nothing, nothing, Tarvos-chan. Just a routine patrol of the building, that's all."_

_"Is the structural integrity of Lia Fail still sound?" asked an attractive man with extremely long silver hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore an eye patch on his left eye, partially hidden by his bangs; the right eye was jet black. He wore a blue jacket and pants, with silver trim. There was a gun in his belt._

_"A little bit more of the roof fell off in the last rain, but none of the acid has gotten past the top floor," Gorre reported. "And before we get too deep into this conversation, I'd like to introduce a buddy of mine. Guys, meet Aura-chan."_

_During the next few hours, Aura got to know the rest of Lia Fail's defense force. The pink-haired woman was Tarvos, the chief medic, and under her worked Satsuki, a black-haired woman with glasses and a streak of her bangs dyed red. She had a masculine face. The man with long silver hair was Magus, chief of security. His men were Nakaru, a man with powder-blue hair and similar-colored markings painted on his forehead, and Sorata, a cheerful, brown-haired man who insisted on being called "Sora-chan". Yasha and Gorre did patrols together. Yasha was strong enough to hold back a great number of intruders, and Gorre was what they called a "runner", who went to get help in case of an attack. Originally, Magus was also with the patrol group, but ever since a man named Skieth defected to Arche Koeln, he was stuck with Skieth's old job: security._

_"Hmm… It's getting close to night time," Magus announced offhandedly. "Perhaps you'd like to see a raid, Aura-chan?"_

_"If it's a raid, you'd better steal something useful this time! No more liquor! I've had enough problems with all the men around here nursing hangovers when the enemy arrives!" Tarvos grouched._

_"We're starting to run a little low on water and medicine," Satsuki read off a list on a data-pad. "And we could use a few more small power cells."_

_"And can we destroy at least one munitions warehouse this time? I don't want this coming back to bite us," Yasha added._

_"You know, Yasha-kun, you're starting to sound a lot like Skieth-kun," Magus said offhandedly. Yasha, Gorre, and Tarvos all looked stricken with sudden, painful guilt. "Geez, sorry I mentioned it…"_

* * *

_Everyone from the defense force came on the raid. They all wore black, tight clothes, and zodiac masks. Tarvos offered Aura some of her spares, but they turned out too big. Satsuki's fit a bit better, but Satsuki was still larger of chest and hips than Aura, so she had to tie some dark blue ribbon around the clothes to make them stay tight. The group waltzed through Lia Fail with no problem, but stopped at the gates._

_"We're perfectly safe while we're in Lia Fail, but as soon as we step across the barrier, we're toast if we're not careful," Magus explained for Aura's benefit._

_Aura looked out at the wasteland stretching beyond the ruined village, then raised her hand. "How come? There's nobody there."_

_"That's a good question, Aura-chan!" Sora-chan replied, taking the opportunity to explain. "You see, Dherris-Kharlan isn't a natural home to humans. The people living here are spirits. You know, kappa and tanuki and flying fish, all that stuff."_

_"But those spirits hold a pretty big grudge against us humans, for some reason," Yasha continued. "No matter where our ancestors set up their tribes, we always got attacked by monsters. There were a lot of tribes that got completely wiped out. So we moved to the only safe place there was: the Lost Grounds."_

_"There are only a few tribes left that we know of, one for each Lost Ground, and since there's only one Lost Ground for every Land (and that's when they have one at all), that makes about five or six tribes still in existence. The spirits refer to this place as the Land of Fire, and this is the Lost Ground for the Land of Fire, home of the Lia Fail tribe."_

_"Our allies are the Dun Lorieg tribe in the Land of Lightning, and the Mac Anu tribe in the Land of Water." Tarvos pulled out a map that looked strangely familiar, although Aura couldn't tell where she had seen it before. She pointed to the Land of Lightning, at the top of the map, and to the Land of Water, a large island surrounded by smaller islands. "Our enemies are the Lumina Cross tribe in the Land of Wind, the Morrigu Barrow tribe in the Land of Stones, the Arche Koeln tribe in the Land of Rain."_

_"Oh, and the Hulle Granz tribe in the Land of Rice Fields," Magus added._

_"Sounds like you've got a lot of enemies," Aura thought out loud._

_"That's because we have the best resources!" Sora-chan took over again. "The Land of Fire is home to a really big spirit city, so we can steal lots of stuff without anybody noticing! That's what these raids are about. Everyone else has a harder time of it because their cities are smaller and heavily guarded."_

_"Not that ours isn't, of course. That's why we have to take these precautions," Nakaru grumbled. He didn't think he looked good in black._

_"Anyway, because spirits won't come near Lost Grounds because of the ghosts, and because there are so few humans in each tribe that we can't even guard the whole Lost Ground, it's much easier to steal water and stuff from each other than to have to deal with liberating it from the cities."_

_"Why do you have to steal water?" Aura asked, before anyone else could start explaining things. All this information was about to make her head explode._

_"Because of the acid rain," Satsuki answered. "The spirit cities were once highly industrialized. This caused acid rain, which is what destroyed the land. Anything our ancestors once grew here has been killed off, and all their wells are contaminated. But the spirits built big shields around their cities to keep out the acid, so their water is still safe to drink, and their food is still okay. They keep most of it in watertight, acid-proof, gold-plated containers."_

_"The chemical properties of gold make it an ideal storage unit, because it won't react with most elements," Aura realized. "It doesn't oxidize and is almost always found in its pure state."_

_"Very good, Aura-chan! You _aren't_ the total nitwit we thought you were!" Yasha exclaimed, patting her on the back._

_"Thanks… I think…?"_

_"We've been collecting containers for several generations, not just the food that goes in it," Tarvos answered. "Because it can be pounded very thin and still act as a shield, we're hoping to cover Lia Fail in gold, to permanently keep out the acid. Then, we can perhaps work on our own farming techniques, and make use of the aquifer beneath our tribe's land, which hasn't been contaminated yet."_

_"But until then, we've gotta steal what we need," Magus concluded. "This explanation has taken quite a bit of time. As leader of this raid, I suggest we get going. Once we pass these gates, don't say a word. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention." Everyone mounted their transportation._

_"You sure you don't need any more instructions on how to ride that, Aura-chan?" Gorre asked._

_"No," Aura replied, shaking her head. Magus took the lead, and everyone rushed silently out into the night, a line of silvery white ghosts crossing a crimson sea._

* * *

_The moon rose over the dead land, colored like blood. Aura had the vague feeling that it was watching her, like a giant eye. Everything was silent except for the blowing of the hot wind and the whirring of the transports. Everyone's rain-cloaks flapped behind them, snapping softly like tattered white flags. There was nothing around for miles, and Aura had just started to wonder why everyone had to be silent, when the red sand rippled beside her, rising up quickly and suddenly going smooth again. Nobody else seemed to have noticed, although Magus reached under his cloak for something._

_Sand sprayed everywhere. There was a loud roar, and several of the transports were thrown backwards as a humongous pinkish-brown snake burrowed up from the sand. It had no eyes, but furnished with rows and rows of sharp teeth. It was then that Aura realized it wasn't a snake._

_It was an earthworm._

_There was a loud bang when Magus fired his gun at the monster worm. The bullet ripped a hole in its hide, but did no lasting damage. It went for Nakaru, opening its mouth to swallow him whole. Tarvos slammed a punch into its head, knocking it to the side, while Gorre vanished in a flash of white, drawing his twin daggers. Eventually, they seemed to have sent it away, as it let out one final roar and buried itself back in the sand._

_"Okay, head count," Magus announced, leaning against his transport. Everyone called out 'present'. Nakaru's and Tarvos's transports were totaled, so they had to buddy-up with someone else. After about a half an hour, they were back on track._

_In the distance, Aura saw a tall, walled city, glowing brightly against the black night sky. As they drew closer, she also saw a glowing green orb thing, spinning on a silver pedestal._

_"This is the chaos gate," Gorre whispered to her. "Satsuki-chan's going to hack it, and that's our ticket into the city."_

_"No talking!" Magus hissed, "Do you want them to catch us?!"_

_They sat in tense silence for a few minutes._

_"We're in," Satsuki announced in a whisper, pressing a button. Rings of light appeared around everyone, and they were in the city, right in the middle of a street filled with spirits. Aura couldn't help but stare. Things that looked like bipedal rabbit-cats were chatting with half-lions. A fox with graying fur and nerdy glasses walked past in a hakama, holding the hand… er, paw, of a fox cub. Said cub was eating takoyaki._

_"Keep your hood up, kid, and don't take off that mask" Magus instructed in a whisper, "If they find out you're a human, you're as good as dead." Aura nodded. The shape of these spirits wasn't much different from a human. As long as nobody saw their face, they were fine. As agreed upon earlier, Aura tagged along with Yasha and Gorre down twisting back alleys, headed to get their most precious resource: water._

_Yasha and Gorre led her to a water tower, stretching all the way to the top of the city's dome. Guards stretched, unconscious, all around them, knocked senseless by Yasha and Gorre. Once again, Aura hadn't done anything. Yasha let out a low whistle._

_"It's full. This should last us for a few months."_

_Aura stared at the tower. "How are we going to carry it all?!"_

_"We aren't. We're just going to warp it back to our reservoir," Gorre explained, attaching a round device to the outside of the tower. There was a buzzing sound as it drilled into the metal. Yasha was setting up an apparatus. He stuck the last piece on it, and the whole thing started to glow. A beam of light shot in the air and opened a rift in the dome above the water tower._

_"Hurry! Someone definitely saw that light!"_

_"Roger!" Gorre pressed a button on the round thing. "Warp in progress." The sound of boots tramping on the paved road forced them to turn around quickly._

_"There they are! The water thieves!" A squad of spirit ninja glared at them, guns raised. They were surrounded._

_"Get outta here, Aura-chan!" Yasha hissed, pressing a pistol into her hand._

_"Get back to Magus and tell him we'll be a bit late, okay? Go!" Gorre launched himself into the crowd, his dual blades whirling. Yasha drew his katana and likewise entered the fray. Aura froze in indecision, then turned on her heel and ran._

"_Not so fast, punk!" The spirits gave chase. Aura found it difficult to evade them. Obviously, they were stronger and faster than the average human, and as far as Aura knew, she had no combat experience whatsoever. She tried to remember the path Yasha and Gorre had taken, all back alleys, stumbling over cracked pavement and pipes of steam and water running between buildings. She abandoned the white rain-cloak and mask, knowing her back clothes would help her blend in with the shadows between tall buildings. She reached Magus and Satsuki, waiting at the Chaos Gate, bursting into the main street. Spirits screamed, pulling young ones back, running away as fast as possible. Magus and Satsuki turned around, wondering what the disturbance was, then turned pale when they saw Aura without a cloak._

"_Hide, Aura!"_

_"Stop, thief!" The spirit ninja had caught up to her. Aura turned around quickly, frightened._

"_I-it's a human!"_

_A young, low-ranking ninja, who had never seen a live human before, jumped back, shooting madly in terror. The bullets slammed into Aura's chest with the force of a train. Time slowed almost to a stop. The world's colors suddenly inverted. Magus and Satsuki screamed silently at her. The sound of a tuning fork rang out through the city._

_Aura fell backwards into darkness._

* * *

Hello, everyone! Kendansa is here again! I hope you liked this little break! It's sort of a sneak-preview into the world of Dherris-Kharlan! I hope you didn't mind too much! These _will_ be cropping up occasionally, so please enjoy them as you enjoy all the other chapters, despite their shortness! And please continue cheering me on! I look forward to all your nice reviews! I promise to reply to each and every comment to the best of my ability!

Ja-ne for now!

_--Kendansa_


End file.
